Cozonac - Romanian Sweet Bread with Walnuts

Prepare the dough first:

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. After extinguishing the fire, allow to cool.

With a spoon, mix the yeast with the eggs and the salt well, until it is homogenous.

Pour the sugar and milk into the hot melted butter, then mix well.

Add milk + sugar + butter to eggs with yeast.

Add flour and knead a soft dough that does not stick to your hands.

Cover the dough bowl with cling film and leave in a warm place for about an hour, until it increases in volume twice.

Divide the dough into 3 parts.

Then cut each part in 2 and form a total of 6 dough balls.

Chop the walnuts well.

Add the cocoa powder, stir.

Then the sugar, mix.

And powdered milk, mix well.

With a little milk or boiled water, dilute the walnut composition - add a little and mix until it becomes a homogeneous and thick composition, like a jam.

Grease the cake trays with oil.

Each ball, in turn, spread it with the facet in a thin and oval sheet.

Put 2 tablespoons of the filling and spread it evenly over the entire surface of the sheet, except on the edges.

Roll the sheet, pressing the edges dry, so that the filling does not come out. Also spread and roll a sheet of dough.

These 2 rolls are woven in a spiral shape.

This will be a cake, which you put in a baking tray prepared beforehand, and leave it in a warm place to grow well.

In this way, form 2 more cakes.

After about an hour, when the cozonacs have grown well, grease them with a brush, with egg yolk - and put them in the oven at medium temperature.

When they brown well, take them out of the oven and let them cool a little.

Then take them out of the trays and let them cool well for a few hours, or if you do them in the evening, leave them until morning. They will be much better and fluffier.

Good appetite!